More than two years have passed since the last public presentation about Councilman Jose Huizar's putative plan to "renew" Pershing Square. At that event, the architects revealed serious disparities between their 2016 design competition entry and what can actually be built on top of the park's garage. Under the revised rendering from Agence Ter, views of the landmark Biltmore Hotel would be blocked by a large LED pergola.
In the months that followed, the FBI raided Huizar's City Hall office. Pershing Square Renew director Eduardo Santana left the organization. The park renewal project appeared to be stalled.
On January 29, Jose Huizar broke the silence, tweeting: "Join us next Monday at the Pershing Square Redesign press conference. Learn about the exciting new design planned for the City’s oldest park. Monday, February 3, 2020 8:30 a.m."
"New" design? Wasn't that already announced in 2016?
Curiously, Pershing Square Renew was not listed among the organizations hosting the press conference, even though that non-profit, a Huizar-formed initiative operating in association with his office, has been fundraising for a Pershing Square redesign since 2014.
What's happened to Pershing Square Renew? The organization's website no longer resolves (summer 2019 archive link here), and according to the California Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts, the non-profit's status is Delinquent, with numerous missing tax filings and repeated mailings returned to Sacramento from bad addresses.
We hope a reporter will ask Jose Huizar about Pershing Square Renew and its finances at Monday's press conference.
As for the Pershing Square Restoration Society, we continue to advocate for the restoration of John Parkinson's 1910 design for Pershing Square, and encourage interested people to sign the petition.
